speech-transcribe

name	speech.transcribe
description	Transcribe audio with the native audio_transcribe tool, including provider override, diarization, timestamps, language detection, and transcript artifacts.
user-invocable	true
requires	{"bins":["node"]}
credentials	[{"id":"openai-api-key","kind":"api_key","required":false,"secret_ref":{"source":"store","id":"OPENAI_API_KEY"},"scope":"OpenAI Whisper speech-to-text transcription.","how_to_obtain":"Create an OpenAI API key. Set `OPENAI_API_KEY` through browser admin at the active `/admin/secrets` route; if browser admin is unavailable, use `/secret set OPENAI_API_KEY \"<api-key>\"` in browser `/chat` or TUI; local console fallback: `hybridclaw secret set OPENAI_API_KEY \"<api-key>\"`."},{"id":"deepgram-api-key","kind":"api_key","required":false,"secret_ref":{"source":"store","id":"DEEPGRAM_API_KEY"},"scope":"Deepgram speech-to-text transcription, diarization, and word timestamps.","how_to_obtain":"Create a Deepgram API key. Set `DEEPGRAM_API_KEY` through browser admin at the active `/admin/secrets` route; if browser admin is unavailable, use `/secret set DEEPGRAM_API_KEY \"<api-key>\"` in browser `/chat` or TUI; local console fallback: `hybridclaw secret set DEEPGRAM_API_KEY \"<api-key>\"`."},{"id":"assemblyai-api-key","kind":"api_key","required":false,"secret_ref":{"source":"store","id":"ASSEMBLYAI_API_KEY"},"scope":"AssemblyAI async speech-to-text transcription, diarization, and word timestamps.","how_to_obtain":"Create an AssemblyAI API key. Set `ASSEMBLYAI_API_KEY` through browser admin at the active `/admin/secrets` route; if browser admin is unavailable, use `/secret set ASSEMBLYAI_API_KEY \"<api-key>\"` in browser `/chat` or TUI; local console fallback: `hybridclaw secret set ASSEMBLYAI_API_KEY \"<api-key>\"`."}]
metadata	{"hybridclaw":{"category":"media","short_description":"Provider-agnostic speech-to-text transcripts.","config":{"speechToText":{"defaultProvider":"auto"}},"tags":["speech","transcription","diarization","timestamps","audio"],"related_roadmap":["R21.69"],"issue":999,"stakes_tiers":{"green":["provider-list","private-transcript"],"amber":["provider-call","transcript-artifact"],"red":["public-share"]},"escalation":{"writes":"confirm-each","route":"f8"},"cost_measurement":{"system":"UsageTotals","sub_limit_contract":"R21.100","sub_limit_key":"speech-to-text"}}}

Speech Transcribe

Use the native audio_transcribe tool when the user asks to transcribe, caption, diarize, timestamp, or identify speakers in an audio or video clip.

Workflow

1. Call audio_transcribe with action: "list" if you need provider readiness or the user asks what is configured.
2. Pass audio as a current attachment filename/ref, /workspace path, /discord-media-cache path, /uploaded-media-cache path, or HTTPS media URL.
3. Use provider: "auto" unless the user asks for openai, deepgram, or assemblyai, or unless diarization is required. Auto mode honors the tenant skills.speechToText.defaultProvider config when it is set. Prefer Deepgram or AssemblyAI for speaker labels.
4. Pass language only when the user gives a known language. Omit it for provider language detection.
5. Set diarization: true when the user asks for speaker labels.
6. Set timestamps to word, segment, or none based on the request.
7. Return the structured result fields that matter: transcript text, provider, detected language, duration, cost, warnings, and artifact paths.

The native tool owns provider credentials, provider fallback, output schema, long-audio chunking for local and remote OpenAI uploads when ffmpeg/ffprobe are available, transcript artifact persistence, and usage-cost accounting.

Output Contract

The tool returns JSON shaped like:

{
  "text": "Transcript text",
  "segments": [{ "start": 0, "end": 1.2, "speaker": "speaker_0", "text": "..." }],
  "language": "en",
  "provider": "deepgram",
  "duration_sec": 12.3,
  "cost_usd": 0.001
}

Transcript text and segment JSON are also persisted as private workspace artifacts. Treat transcripts as operator-private until the user explicitly asks to share, post, email, or publish them.